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Monday, September 22, 2014

Homemade Pizza

Pizza is one of my very favorite foods. Hot, cold, the toppings make no difference, pizza is just delicious. I even love making my own pizza. It honestly takes about the same amount of time to make and bake as it would to order it from somewhere.

This recipe starts with my magic bread recipe that can be transformed into anything you like. Add some sauce, cheese and some toppings and you are ready for a delicious, ooey gooey pie. This pizza in particular is my husband's favorite. Topped with pepperoni, chicken and green chile this pizza is super tasty with a side of ranch dressing.

Ingredients

3 cups all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon yeast

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups water (room temperature)

1/2 cup marinara sauce

2 cups grated mozzarella cheese

toppings of your choice

First, combine the flour, salt, yeast and water in a large bowl. This will look like a shaggy mess. Trust me, it will work. Cover the dough with plastic wrap overnight or at least for 12 hours. This is what the dough will look like.

Preheat your oven to 450 degrees for at least 30 minutes before you put the pizza in to create a nice and crispy crust.

Sprinkle about 1/4 cup extra flour onto the counter and your rolling pin. Roll and stretch the dough until it is 1/4 inch thin and just barely fits onto a square cookie sheet. If you only have a rectangular cookie sheet, just shape it to fit the pan.

Spread the marinara sauce over the doughy crust.

Sprinkle the cheese evenly over the sauce.

Add any toppings you like. If you are adding sliced veggies, make sure they are not too thin as they will get too toasty in the hot oven.

Bake the pizza for 20 to 30 minutes. The baking time will depend on how thin you roll the dough. Just check to see that the cheese is nicely golden brown and the crust should be completely solid on the bottom.

Let the pizza cool for about 10 minutes before trying to cut it. The cheese will rip right off the pizza and you will most likely burn yourself. There's no need for such things during pizza time.